Dr. Linda Silbert and her husband Dr. Al Silbert, authors of the award-winning book, "Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids," are directors of the Strong Learning Centers. They offer tutoring, test prep, and educational testing for all ages in Putnam and Westchester County, NY. This blog is intended to provide general information on broad educational topics. If you or your child has a persistent problem, please consult a professional in your community or school personnel.

For instance, multiplication tables are hard to memorize for all children – but some number sequences have tricks that make it easy. In the Dyscalculia Toolkit we give you a tricks for adding and multiplying lots of different numbers. For instance we show you how to multiply 9’s on your hands and how to count by three’s.

Once you learn the tricks, you’ve learned how to do it. No flash cards or graph paper or worksheets – just fun. Again dyscalculia treatment doesn’t have to be a chore. It’s not that people with dyscalculia can’t learn math – they just do better a different way.

Do you remember those Saturday morning cartoon songs they played between shows? I think School House Rock was one of them. Well, once you get those tunes in your head, you’ll never forget how to count by three’s or nine’s or twenty-sevens.

Dyscalculia isn’t a disease and thus whatever dyscalculia treatment you want to prescribe doesn’t have to be either. Pick up up our free “dyscalculia toolkit” and start doing the fun things inside. Once your child sees that learning can be fun and can “stick” – they’ll want to do all kinds of new math.

Comments

I’m a college student in Los Angeles. I am currently taking Math 73 (Intermediate Algebra) for the 3rd time for Summer school and I’m failing. I have taken 3 quizzes (received all F’s), my first exam I received an F and I’m pretty sure I will fail my next exam. I need to pass Math in order to transfer and I want to see if this is what I have so I can correct. If anyone knows where in Los Angeles I can go to get tested and/or treated, please let me know.

I am an adult with Dyscalculia. I have been pursuing my Nursing career and have waited till the very last to do my math courses. I tried a general math course in my first year of college and failed, I’ve not attempted math since. I’ve never been tested, but don’t feel I need too. I know what I know and when I try to learn math or sit down to even read a book on how to learn math, I become lost. I get A’s in English and do well in my science classes, but to get my RN……..college Algebra, chemistry and such is a must. I’m 47 years old I don’t have the time nor the money to waste on programs that can’t help me or tutors that don’t know what to do. Can you please suggest something. Thank you so very much.

Hello
I am 13 and just started eighth grade this week.
I think I may be dyscalculia but I don’t know.
I’ve always had trouble with math since…well
Forever.ever since kindergarden I’ve always gone to
Title 1 math teachers (pretty much a very small group
Of kids who struggle in math) I had such a hard time that
My teacher used to have me do work in huge graph paper
And went through it super slow usually taking up a whole
Hour or more to complete something. It took me maybe
Two years to fully understand three digit multiplication
And I still have problems.
In sixth grade my teacher thought I had
ADD and that I was dyslexic but she never did anything.
I just worked at a reallllly slow pace usually having
My dad do whatever assignment we had that day. He
Would go through it and take it slow
I would kind of get it at first but then I would forget the
Process the next day. It is so frustrating. I have algebra this year and since this
Was the first week we never got much work. We did get a
Paper though. It’s fractions and my teacher went over it in class
Then let us work on it and I didn’t know what to do. I took it
Home and attempted some myself but even looking at the notes we
Took I don’t understand. Sometimes I will read numbers wrong. Like
435 will be 354 or 3 could look like an 8 to me I rarely catch this though.
I can’t do mental math very good. I have always had multiplication
Fact problems even the basic ones I still have to think about. It’s been that
Way since 3rd grade. Math is all around hard for me in whatever is going on.
We took a couple tests this week and I’m pretty sure I bombed them. I may have
Mis-read numbers but I don’t really know. If he sees my work will he know?
I’m already behind and its only the first week. Do I have dyscalculia? Someone please
Help me this really truly means a lot to me

Also I am doing volleyball this year. We had our second practice today
Could being dyscalculia interfere with it? I haven’t really seen much of a problem yet though.

Ask your teacher for help. Ask if there is someone in your school who works with kids with learning disorders? To answer your question about volleyball, I don’t think dyscalculia will interfere with volleyball in any way.

Thank you so much for helping with dyscalculia. My grandson has this condition. When the subject was mentioned at his school in Kentucky, the response was, ” Kentucky doesn’t recognize dyscalculia.”. No help what so ever. My grandson is now in the 7th grade. He makes a’s and b’s on his report card in everything but math.He usually gets an d or f. They will not help him period. They are using carnegie programs that grandma and grandpa have simply no idea about helping him. His mother tries very hard to help, but he fails all his test. We are all college graduates, and feel so stupid when trying to help.My grandson needs testing to diagnose him appropriately. That is the major problem. He needs help, and if you have anything that can help him I would appreciate it immensely.

Thank you for your good comment. I do empathize with the challenges parents and grandparents are having in trying to help kids do math. Math is being taught is such a different way now that it’s hard to parents to help. I suggest you find an older youngster who is doing well in math or a math tutor who understands what the children need to learn, the process they must follow, and knows how to help kids who have dyscalculia.

Dr. Linda’s Books Receive Award

Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids and Bessie's Pillow have both received the coveted Mom's Choice Gold Award.

Read Bessie’s Pillow: An Immigrant’s Story

Bessie's Pillow , a masterful blending of history and life, describes the early 1900s as seen through one immigrant's eyes. And also also a story of resilience that reminds us that no matter when or from where we came to America, we are not so different. This is not only Bessie's story—it is ours. Get Bessie's Pillow Today

Teachers: Are You Worried about Grades?

Find out how to connect your mission as a teacher with what you need to know about Common Core, InTASC Standards and models like the Danielson Framework. Find solutions in Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Teachers.